1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetoelectric generator for generating electric power by electromagnetic induction between a magnet and a generating coil due to rotation of a flywheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known examples of conventional magnetoelectric generators include magnetoelectric generators in which generating coils are installed on teeth of a stator core in which a plurality of thin steel sheets are laminated in order to suppress heat generated by eddy currents, and a plurality of permanent magnets fixed to an inner surface of an outer peripheral edge of a flywheel so as to be spaced away from each other circumferentially are disposed around an outer periphery of the generating coils (See Patent Literature 1, for example).
Patent Literature
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-135382 (Gazette: FIG. 1)
In magnetoelectric generators having the above configuration, heat due to hysteresis loss and eddy current loss is generated in the stator core due to an alternating magnetic field generated by the permanent magnets as the flywheel rotates, increasing temperature in the stator core, and because temperature in the generating coils also increases with temperature increases in the stator core, resistance increases in the generating coils. As a result, temperature in the generating coils also increases due to copper loss, which is proportional to resistance in the generating coils, and one problem has been that generating efficiency is reduced.
An electrically-insulating coating is applied to copper wire used in the generating coils using a polymeric material, and another problem has been that service life and reliability of the generating coils are reduced if the temperature in the generating coils rises and a high-temperature state continues for an extended period of time.
In particular, there has been a tendency toward increased output in magnetoelectric generators In recent years, and frequency has been increased by increasing the number of magnets (magnetic poles), increasing heat generated in the stator core by hysteresis loss and eddy current loss, and also exacerbating the above problems.